I remember my braces that I wore when I was a kid were all steel and leather - very hot, as they went all the way up to my waist.  Fortunately after I had surgery when I was in the sixth grade, I never had to wear them again.

Kat

On Tue, 7 May 2002 10:33:30 -0400 "Cleveland, Kyle E." <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Mags-

Most folks our age had carbon steel braces.  I had them when I was really
young and then the Physical Med engineers at University of Michigan tried
stainless steel on a small group of kids (I was one).  They weren't any
heavier than the carbon steel appliances, but they were much less brittle.
Hence, they were much less prone to snap due to torsion.

I have a friend who works in Cambodia making orthoses and prostheses for
victims of land-mine explosions.  He's been experimenting with Kevlar.  That
stuff is, quite literally, bullet-proof.  It can be worked like fiberglass,
but you have to use special tools in the modeling process as it's MUCH
stronger than steel.

-Kyle

-----Original Message-----
From: Magenta Raine [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 12:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New AFO


My old fashioned leg braces were not kid proof or CP proof, I was always
busting them, until I got my mimi brace.  (sort of like the swash) that
brace
never broke!

_________________________________________________________________


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